Bear Fight American Single Malt Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

Next Century Spirits was founded by Scott Bolin and Joel Pawlak, and the company opened their distillery in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2018. Their website makes it clear that they have positioned themselves as a contract distiller, but the company also has its in-house brands relying on a mix of sourced and self-produced spirits. It is a model that should be familiar to all whiskey industry observers, as the goliath that is Bardstown Bourbon Company was built on it.

One of those brands is Bear Fight Whiskey, and it’s a perfect example of that model in action. The brand has a Kentucky bourbon, which given the company’s North Carolina base can only mean it was sourced. Their American Single Malt, on the other hand, appears to have been made by them. They call it a “triple oak finished” whiskey, but that is a bit of a misstatement, as the maturation notes list three types of wood but only two used for secondary maturation: the whiskey was aged in used bourbon barrels and then finished in a mix of old Sherry casks and “smoked peat” casks. The whiskey is bottled at 90 proof.

The Whiskey
The pour from the bottle has a dulled gold look. Gold doesn’t corrode, but that does not necessarily mean the metal is polished, and that is what I mean here.

The nose was the most complex part of the experience, so take your time with it. The foundation was something of a baked pear dish, with honey in place of brown sugar, but the customary baking spices. The honey and pear came together in a way that I initially thought it something akin to jack fruit, but pulled the strands apart on further nosing. Atop that was a musty, chalky straw note.

The flavor carried that pear and honey, almost tropical aspect forward, blending it with nuts, char (not smoke) and tobacco leaf, before the whole thing rolls over and turns woody and spicy. That back end carries straight into the finish, running spicy, dry and oaked for a spell.

Overall, this American Single Malt is certainly very much in the vein of a blended Scotch, and given its maturation style I cannot say that is surprising. There is no new oak at all involved, so all else considered the only major departure this whiskey has from Scotland is where it was made. The climate in Raleigh is quite far removed from Speyside.

The Price
According to their own website shop, expect to pay about $47 a bottle for Bear Fight American Single Malt.